


The Shadow's in Everyone's Hearts

by Meemo4



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Flashbacks, Gen, Murder, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Sad, Story within a Story, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-27
Updated: 2019-04-14
Packaged: 2019-12-18 13:56:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18251225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meemo4/pseuds/Meemo4
Summary: The cognitive world allowed a user to do many things. It allowed for one organization to be formed, which benefited off the suffering of others. They used mental shutdowns and psychotic breakdowns for the sake of their own selfish greed. Another organization also formed, using changes of heart to reform people, and had the goal of helping society. But… Amamiya Ren decided on one different course of action. This caused one of these organizations to never form. This one decision in his life ended up determining the fate of humanity as a whole. He lead them down to ruin…“This rain ain’t too bad. We better hurry up, or we’ll be late. It’s your first day, right? I know a shortcut through here.”“Thanks for the offer, but I’ll find a different route.”





	1. The Joker

12/18  
Sunday  
6:14 p.m

The moonlight dazzled and reflected off of the shadowed sea.The shine of the crimson tinted sky cast a dreary glow over a luxurious cruise ship. The ships inhabitants seemed to go about their day like any other, filled with laughter and joy.

All except for three figures, all shadowed by the towering architecture that loomed nearby.

The ship let out a deafening cacophony. It resonated similarly to the wail of a suffering animal. It was as if the ark could sense the malevolent weight of the darkened silhouettes.

“W-Wait! Please, I’m sorry! Just don’t kill me! Please, I beg of you!”

This figure seemed like any other ordinary man that populated the ark. He had a fashionable suit on and looked middle-aged. Bald with orange tinted glasses. But his eyes had an otherworldly, golden glow to them. He was on his knees in front of the other two.

“I c-could give you both a-anything you want!”

The moonlight parted to reveal one of the cloaked figures. He had on a black mask along with black armor striped with blue. Black gloves and boots, along with black belts adorned with silver chains.

“Do you have any idea how long I’ve waited to hear those words from you? How much I’ve went through to hear you sing that song to me? _To hear you beg for mercy!_ ”

The figure had a devious smirk lining his face. Pure malice dripped from his voice. He seemed to have no qualms about hurting this man. He actually seemed to enjoy the whole experience.

The lunar radiance again parted to reveal the second figure standing alongside the black masked person. This one was bearing a black trench coat which split into three separate sections at the bottom. He had on red gloves with a white mask adorned with a black border surrounding the eyes. He was wearing black boots with a grey armored shirt. Like the other man, he also had black belts with silver chains around him.

He walked up to the kneeling figure and kicked him in the face, sending the old man skidding back quite a number of feet. He had on a calm smile on his face as he did so. He then proceeded to smash his boots down on the man’s head, forcing an excruciating pressure on his skull.

“Do you know what it feels like to beg for mercy and not receive any of it!? Do you understand exactly what it feels like when you’re helpless to defend yourself?! To lose your life when someone with more power than you decides to screw you over?!”

The character raised his voice to better emphasize his words. His voice just as venomous as the other individuals. He proceeded to remove his foot from his head. The man’s mask began to be replaced by blue flames, and a new shadow, bigger than the three others combined, cast a shadow upon the group once more. The being erupted black chains from itself and wrapped them around the defenseless beggar, forcing him to a sitting position.

The body raised its head up and looked up into the barrel of a revolver.

His gaze then flicked up into red eyes, the eyes that belonged to the black masked man.

“Now that you have reached the apex of your power. The position where you thought that you had obtained the world. I’m going to watch the life slowly drain out of your eyes. Make you understand the suffering you bestowed upon not just us, but countless. This is where we will enact our justice.”

The man’s tone of voice never changed. It was calm and collected throughout.

“Goodbye father.”

He then pulled the trigger.

* * *

 

12/18  
Sunday  
7:54 p.m

A young man with sandy, long hair walked through a door and entered the apartment. He was carrying a grocery bag in one hand and a silver briefcase with a black circle encompassing the letter “A”. He adorned a hazel suit with a badge on the left side of his chest. The suit had many different folds and buttons holding it together. Underneath the suit was a white, collared shirt with a blue and white striped tie. He had on black, leather gloves.

“You brought the drinks, right?” The person to say this had black, frizzy hair which look like it hadn’t been combed in weeks, spiked in countless different directions.

The sandy haired man responded by setting his briefcase on the kitchen counter, digging into his grocery bag and tossing a can to the frizzy head. The black haired boy caught it and let out a pout after viewing the label.

“Diet coke? Really? _Diet?"_  The sandy haired boy just revealed a light smile in response before walking towards another door in a nearby hallway. He entered, and came out a few moments later wearing a blue checkered sweater instead. He also was no longer wearing any gloves. He grabbed a soda can from the counter and sat down.

“You didn’t have to go this crazy with the snacks you know?” The teenager gestured towards the coffee table in front of them. It was littered with chips, cookies, chocolates, and many other assortments of unhealthy junk foods.

“And you could have brought any other drink. Why diet coke!? Really Goro!?” The now identified Goro merely chuckled in response.

“It’s fitting. We just sunk the diet building Ren. Let’s sink some diet drinks as well.” Ren’s pout just got deeper.

“I get that, but diet just tastes so bad. Do you have anything else?” Ren didn’t wait for a reply to his rhetorical question before he walked over to the fridge and opened it to reveal… more diet coke bottles, and other food items but they were irrelevant at the moment.

Ren turned his gaze to Goro with a more questioning look then an accusatory one. “Why’d you buy more drinks if we already had some here? Goro just chuckled before answering.

“So I could get a kick out of your reaction.”

“Well, then I won’t give you a funny reaction to work with.” Ren retorted. This time it was Goro’s turn to pout.

“Then I won’t eat your snacks!” Ren had to try hard not to laugh at Goro’s disgruntled expression.

“Cool, go to bed tonight on an empty stomach.”

“You can go to bed thirsty then.”

“I can drink water!”

“And I can make literally anything else that’s in the fridge!”

Both boys stopped for a moment and began to comprehend the childishness of their argument and wordlessly accepted a truce. Ren popped open a can of diet coke and Goro took a frosted covered cookie from a newly opened box.

The news station they were watching was announcing the results of the recent election. There truly wasn’t a need for them to build any excitement or tension though. Everyone knew who won the election. The likelihood of aliens crash landing on the planet was more likely than anyone other than the leader of the United Future Party becoming the next prime minister.

The TV boomed out over the small room. Their was loud applause generated from not only the TV but also from down in the streets of Shinjuku below. It seemed lots of people had decided to gather together to watch the results of this election.

That was just going to make their plan all the sweeter.

“My election is the result of every citizen’s aid. Your support warms my heart!” Ren let out a small snort at this while Goro had a huge grin plastered onto his features. He was practically giggling in his seat. It was a very unusual thing for Amamiya Ren to see that in the usually calm and collected Akechi Goro.

“I am so glad to know that so many of this nation’s wonderful people have decided to come together for my aid. I am proud to become the next representative of this beautiful, prospering country.” Goro was shoving snacks down his throat and an alarming rate and wasn’t even trying to hide his giggling. Ren continued to sit there with a calm smile, before it dissipated after taking a sip of his coke.

“I promise that I will create a nation that the next generation can be proud of and live in freely!” This statement generated even more applause from the crowd. The political candidate allowed the applause to quiet down before he continued.

“Together, with your help, I promise to make Japan a country that the world-” The politician abruptly stopped speaking and began to clutch his chest. His head dipped down, no longer visible to the camera. A black liquid began dripping from his face and his skin began paling.

He looked up at the camera, and viewers across the nation were met with a horrible sight. His eyes were pale and lifeless, bleeding out a black fluid that flowed down his face. His mouth struggled to let out a call for help.

“D-Da-amn y-you, A-Ake-” The man slumped forward and fell on top of the podium, resulting in the blood on his face scattering all over the wooden structure and nearby audience members.

There were loud shrieks and screams heard. People began running in and out of view of the camera before the screen cut out to a grey static.

Shido Masayoshi had just been murdered live in front of the entire nation.

Goro wasn’t even trying to hide his laughter anymore. He began howling through the apartment, “Yes! Finally, yes! Go to hell  _dad!"_

In contrast, Ren had on a small smile, but still kept up a thoughtful expression. This is was the moment that the last six months all lead up to. His revenge against Shido for ruining his life, giving him a false criminal record, and Goro’s revenge against his father for abandoning him and his mother and forcing him to live a hellish childhood.

The screen cut back from its static a few minutes later to reveal a middle-aged newscaster. “Breaking news! Police officials have just discovered a calling card sent to Masayoshi Shido in his office! It was signed by the Joker!”

This game started seven months ago.


	2. Mistrust, Hate, and Betrayal

4/9  
Saturday  
12:57 p.m

Amamiya Ren was on a train that would lead him to the famous Shibuya crossing. To Tokyo, where he would be spending the next year of his probation.

He was absentmindedly listening in to the conversations around him. There was nothing better to do, and it was more comforting than to think about the circumstances that lead him to this situation.

_“Damn, brat. I’ll sue!”_

Ren clutched his bag harder, trying to just forget. Maybe coming to Tokyo would be a good experience for him? He could start a new life.

“What? Are you for real? A mental shutdown?”

“It’s the truth!”

“To a person though? That’s got to be a joke. You really love all that occult stuff, don’t you?”

Ren found it easier to focus on other things by listening to the girls chatter. He didn’t know what a mental shutdown was, but he welcomed the talk of ‘occult stuff’ to his bitter memories.

_“Arriving at Shibuya Station. Arriving at Shibuya Station.”_

The train began decelerating to a stop. The doors slid open and the occupants of the train began to gather their bags and leave the vehicle. Ren grabbed his bag and left the train as well.

Once outside the station, he could clearly see the iconic crossing. Seeing thousands of people walking on this one street alone put into perspective just how many people there really were in Tokyo.

He pulled out his phone and was going to enter the address to Sakura Sojiro’s house, the person with whom he was going to stay the next year, but instead, diverted his interest to another app on his phone.

The app was red and black with an eye in the center. The app was… pulsing? Ren didn’t remember ever downloading the app, and he certainly had never seen an app ever behaving like this. Maybe it was some big city telemarketing thing?

He decided to click on the app.

All of a sudden, the world seemed to freeze around him. Ren was startled out of any sense of comfort he still had. Across the street, he saw bright, blue flames begin to materialize, they formed a giant figure in the middle of the crossing, and out of the flame, came a being with golden eyes.

Ren was looking into the demonic eyes of a person that looked far to similar to him to be a coincidence. And then, as if it was just a figment of his imagination, everything went back to normal.

Everyone went on with their lives as if nothing just happened. Time never stopped, there were no blue flames, and no one batted an eye in his direction.

Ren decided that the long train ride must be getting to him. What else could it be?

He settled on deleting the mysterious app, inputting the address he was supposed to earlier, and going on his way.

* * *

 

His parents had told him that Sakura-san owned a cafe, but that didn’t mean he expected to actually live there.

The attic was probably the dustiest place on the planet but Ren had expected to be sleeping in an unfinished bathroom in the man’s basement so this was an upgrade.

Still, Ren decided that he probably wouldn’t like the man during his stay here. He didn’t even try to hide his disdain towards him and left him with minimal cleaning materials. He supposed that he was justified since he was taking in a ‘criminal’, but Ren was still irritated.

Cleaning the room sucked. All Ren had to aid him was a mop, bucket, and a feather duster. The duster was appropriate at least. The room was covered top to bottom in dust. He spent a few hours tirelessly cleaning, before he looked back at his work and discovered that he barely made any progress in the first place. He settled with just pushing as much dust as he could away from the bed. He could just clean up the rest later.

Sakura-san still seemed impressed by his efforts though, so that was good.

* * *

 

4/11  
Monday  
8:17 a.m

The next day was primarily wasted away in a car stuck in traffic, accompanied by the listening to Sakura-san’s ranting.

Principal No-Neck was an asshole who Ren hated with a passion the moment his bulging chin sloshed out his first sentence. If he was so worried that Ren was going to be a troublemaker, why accept him in the first place?

_“If you are thrown out from our school, there will be no place for you to go. Keep that in mind. Be thankful for the opportunity that you are being given.”_

Yes. He should be thankful that he was wrongly convicted of crime, then moved to a big city to live in a cafe!

He barely acknowledged Kawakami’s (He won’t call someone who doesn’t want him around, _sensei)_ comments. She was obviously scared of him and wasn’t even willing to give him a chance. He could understand why Sakura and Kobayakawa were being harsh to him, one was his caretaker and the other was trying to make sure the school filled with kids was safe, but he didn’t understand why she wasn’t going to give him a chance when she wouldn’t be punished if he did do something wrong.

His opinion of Sakura did get a little better though when he offered him breakfast. Though, his neutral mood reverted back to irritation when it began raining and he didn’t have an umbrella, coupled with the fact that the eyeball app wouldn’t leave and kept reinstalling itself to his phone.

His dreams were just as weird these days, with that long nosed man and the two girls who looked far younger than him as wardens. Ren decided to finally check out what the app was about. Maybe after clicking on it, it would just go away. Ren was met with a short menu with two options.

_New Destination_

_Bookmarks_

Was this some sort of navigation app. If it was, he was confused why it automatically downloaded on his phone and he couldn’t delete it. Maybe everyone who entered Tokyo received the app? A way to aid tourists?

He clicked on the _‘New Destination’_ button when a… pretty good looking girl, with blond hair styled in a pigtail, wearing the shujin academy uniform with a white hoodie underneath, who also looked foreign, decided to stop next to him. She surprisingly spoke perfect Japanese, but also seemed like trouble. She was trying to act all cutesy and loli like by getting rid of a petal in his hair. He wasn’t going to let that unnerve him though.

A car came rolling by and offered them both a ride. Ren decided to refuse, if not because of the fact that going into a stranger’s car seemed like a bad idea, but because the man had a look which seemed to be engineered to convey ‘don’t’. He gave Ren a piercing, intimidating gaze, which honestly, scared him. The girl went in, and while Ren was curious why she frowned upon entering, he decided that he didn’t care. If something bad happened to her, it wasn’t his problem.

Another boy came running down the sidewalk. Ren noticed that the rain seemed to let up.

“Dammit… screw that pervy teacher.”

The boy was also wearing the Shujin academy uniform, though it was dusty and crumpled in some locations. He wore a yellow shirt underneath and looked to favor one of his legs over the other. He didn’t know which one, as the boy bent both of his legs while stationary. His hair was blonde, but Ren could still see the brown roots.

The boy finally noticed Ren, and turned around to address him. “...What do you want?” The kid was obviously very distrustful of others as well, a trait they both shared.

“You plannin’ on rattin’ me out to Kamoshida?” Ren was confused. The blond hadn’t done anything wrong except stand on the sidewalk. What would he ‘rat him out’ for? But the name stuck out to Ren.

“Kamoshida?” Ren settled on asking.

“Huh, in that car just now. It was Kamoshida.” That answered one of Ren’s questions, but still left him confused. Why was this person even talking to him? They were going to get late at this point.

_“Candidate found.”_ Ren heard the voice from his phone and realized that the app from earlier was still open. His attention was quickly drawn back though by the boy.

“He does whatever the hell he thinks he wants. Who the hell does he think he is--the king of a castle? Don’t you agree?”

_“Candidate Found.”_ Once more, Ren heard the voice from his phone.

Ren looked back up at the boy with a confused expression, still not understanding what exactly he was talking about and why. The vulgar looking boy finally seemed to realize the issue.

“...Wait. You don’t know Kamoshida? Are you for real? You’re from Shujin Academy, right?” Ren responded with a nod. He thought he heard another _‘Candidate Found’_ , but the boy’s voice drowned out the noise. “Never seen you before though.”

“I’m a transfer student.” He replied. He regretted the statement almost as soon as he made it. Ren still didn’t know who this person was and didn’t want to share more info with him than possible.

“Then no wonder you don’t know him.” The kid finally decided to end the conversation.

“This rain ain’t too bad. We better hurry up, or we’ll be late. It’s your first day, right? I know a shortcut through here.” He gestured towards an alley on his right. Not shady or suspicious at all. Ren contemplated his offer, and ultimately decided to decline. He still didn’t know who he was, and this kid seemed like a thug, if the state of clothing and dyed hair meant anything.

“Thanks for the offer, but I’ll find a different route.” The boy let out a sad expression. Ren realized that what he said might have seemed quite insensitive, and thought about changing his answer and accepting the offer, but decided that the frown must have been some sort of trick to get him to lower his guard. He lastly settled on, “Sorry, but I don’t know who you are. I don’t feel comfortable walking down a narrow alley with a stranger.”

The vulgar looking kid began to dawn understanding, and nodded. “Makes sense. Well, see you at school.”

The blondie began to walk down the alley. Even by himself, he continued to walk on his limp.

Ren let out a sigh, all the mornings events seemed to be catching up to him. “Better get going then.” He had meant to say these words to himself, but he heard another voice respond to him.

_“Beginning Navigation.”_

Ren felt a sharp headache hit him at the same. He shook his head and began to walk down the sidewalk. It unnerved him a bit that no one else even seemed to be outside. He just accepted that it must be because of the rain and continued on.

He turned the corner and expected to see the school. He remembered driving down this road with Sakura yesterday but instead, he found a castle.

A huge, fairy tale like castle, with a red sky surrounding it.

This… definitely… didn’t make any sense. Ren tried to justify that he was just going crazy. Of course he was. Why the hell would there be a _magical castle_ where the school is supposed to be. Ren stepped back and leaned against the wall. He began to rub his head and clean his glasses.

His lens were just supposed to be cosmetic, but Ren knew that this couldn’t be real. Ren double-checked, both with and without his glasses, and still saw a _perfectly real castle._

Ren decided that he probably just took the wrong turn, this was still only his first time walking to school. He pulled out his phone to inspect his directions and found that he had no service.

His screen was completely covered by the _damn red eye app_ that just wouldn’t leave him alone! He couldn’t even see what time it was. At the current rate, he was definitely going to be late.

Ren decided that if he couldn’t trust his own eyes and technology, he would attempt to trust other people. He made his way back around the corner and entered the convenience store he stood under earlier. He might find another Shujin student there buying something and ask for directions. He was really regretting not following that blond kid from earlier.

Ren entered the shop and found that… the store was completely empty. There wasn’t a single soul inside.  
_‘This… this wasn’t real. It couldn’t be! This doesn't make any sense at all!’_ He thought to himself. It was monday morning! How was there no one in this store?

Ren ran out of the building and tried to catch his breath. He checked his phone again. The red eye was still taunting him from his screen.

Ren began running to every building lining the street and found the same thing, no one in them. He discovered that there would only be one place where he could go to find answers.

The castle.

Ren took a deep breath to calm himself down, made a loud, audible gulp, clenched his fists, and began walking back towards the castle.

Seeing the sign for Shujin Academy didn’t help ease his nerves at all. There was no way someone could build a castle within a single day! And what about the red sky!

Ren cautiously walked across the drawbridge and through the huge, steel doors in front of him.

Inside, he found a huge lobby with two sets of stairs leading up to the same place. The floor was colored with a checkerboard pattern. It was surprisingly normal. Not what he was expecting.

Wait! No! This was definitely not normal! The school was supposed to be here, not a _castle!_ Ren looked around and saw three figures walk in from a nearby hall. They were wearing porcelain masks and full body armor. Also, they were holding swords. And they looked dangerously real. Ordinarily, Ren would just assume that he was being paranoid, but after the events of that morning, he justified that he was allowed to be paranoid with himself.

The three came to a stop in front of him. Ren was crouched in a defensive stance, ready to run should the situation call for it.

But another soldier had come up behind him and smashed his shield against his head. Ren was knocked unconscious.

…

Ren woke up and found himself on a hard surface. A wooden board inside a prison cell. The room was purple and was surrounded in brick and concrete.

As he stood up, Ren heard a scream. It was bloodcurdling and sounded similar to the screech of a dying animal.

Ren looked around and realized that he certainly couldn’t be dreaming if the thumping he felt on the back of his head meant anything. You couldn’t feel pain in a dream, right?

Ren slowly shuffled his way toward the door. He gripped his hand around the steel bars and would have snickered with how similar this was to another dream he had the other night if the situation wasn’t as dire as it was. Or was he just dreaming one long dream in which he kept switching between his multiple dreams?

Ren backed away from the door and felt around his cell. Maybe he could find a loose brick around here to get out?

After a few minutes of unsuccessful attempts at escape, Ren heard the familiar *clank clank* noise that came with the guards armor. He didn’t know whether to feel relief or terror at the arrival of another presence. The knights came to a stop in front of his cage.

**“Be glad that your punishment has been decided upon.”** So the freaky, monster like kinghts could talk. Neat. **“Your charge is unlawful entry. Thus, you will be sentenced to death.”**

This… none of this made any sense at all. A castle, magic guards, being executed. “Wh...What the _fuck_ is going on?” Ren managed to stammer out.

**“No one’s allowed to do as they please in my castle.”** Ren jerked back as he heard a familiar voice, followed by a familiar figure. He might have been wearing a red robe, pink speedo, and gold crown, and come in with otherworldly, golden eyes, but Ren still recognized who this was. This was the same person he saw this morning in the car. Who ‘offered’ him a ride.

The blond one had called him Kamoshida.

**“I want to say that I didn’t expect this, but then I’d be lying to myself.”** The man’s expression shifted from one of wonder to one of disappointment. **“Of course the transfer student with the criminal record would misbehave on his first day.”** His feigned discontent changed to a smirk. Ren felt his insides boil at the jabs Kamoshida was sending him. It took all his will power not to just grab him through the bars and slam his head against the floor.

“Why the hell are you locking me up? Where am I? And for that matter, who are you?” I returned his taunts with calmly spoken questions. Yet, Kamoshida still took offense to him.

**“Is that how you speak to a king? It seems you don’t understand the position you’re in at all.”** Ren felt himself get even more frustrated but didn’t let his anger get a hold of him. He waited to see what the man was going to do. **“You trespassed onto my castle, then disrespected me. The penalty for that is death!”** The death threats Ren was receiving no longer felt the earlier sting they had to them. For better or for worse, he was beginning to accept the insanity he roped himself in.

The guards began unlocking the door and quickly pushed Ren back against the wall. They proceeded to cross two of their spears over his neck, restraining his movements. Kamoshida walked in after the guards and raised his fist back. Even being prepared for the strikes, they all came out a lost faster and harder than he expected. His punches felt like being hit with a metal rod and his strikes came out as fast as lightning. His face felt bruised and bloody, and Ren finally accepted that he wasn’t dreaming. This was real.

**“That look in your eyes irritates me!”** Kamoshida kicked him hard in the gut and motioned towards the knights. **“This one’s no fun anymore, execute him.”** Kamoshida delivered the order as easily as one would slice a cake. It was short, sweet, and to the point. He didn’t care what the consequences were for his actions.

So weak. So useless. Such a coward. That’s all Ren was. And he was going to die here because of it.

The world seemed to slow down and darken for a bit, before time stopped completely. This man, Kamoshida, was completely frozen and and unmoving, like a statue. The world appeared as an ugly black and grey.

Then came a bright, blue butterfly. It battled on against this horrid landscape and continued moving against the twilight. Ren couldn’t help but feel giddy and excited just by looking at it. A feeling of comfort like that of a bed, and a feeling of warmth that could come from sitting by a fireplace on a winter night. The butterfly let out a voice, filled with a young innocence, but also fear.

**_“_ ** _This is truly an unjust game. Your chances of winning are almost none.”_

Its words were condescending but soon picked up.

_“But if my voice is reaching you, there may yet be a possibility open to you.”_

The world seemed to light up again, the butterfly faded, and time resumed moving once more. Then, another voice, this one far more jaded and cruel.

_**“What’s the matter? Are you simply going to watch?”** _

What else did the voice expect him to do? What could a schoolboy like him do against these knights with actual swords in their hands? He had given up hope and was just willing to accept his demise, here in this magical castle, at the hands of a pervert wearing a pink speedo.

_**“Death awaits you if you do nothing. Will you really just stand aside and let this man win! Let corrupt individual’s like this one get away with all the harm they’ve ever done!”** _

But he had already tried, didn’t he? Isn’t that why he was here in the first place?! Because of some asshole who wanted to flaunt his authority?! What is someone like him going to do against someone like that?!

_**“Was your previous decision a mistake then?” Will you truly just stand down, and allow yourself to be cast aside by people like that?! Won’t you fight back and take hold of what is truly yours?!” Your justice?!”** _

… No. He knew that it wasn’t a mistake. He was just doing the right thing. He never did anything wrong. That man was the one to blame!

“It’s wasn’t!” He screamed into the isolated cell he was in.

Kamoshida cracked a smile at my plea. His knight raised his sword up in the air over my head.

_**“Very well... I have headed your resolve.”** _

Pain began pouring into every inch of Ren’s body. He screamed and screamed. He squirmed as much as he could against the knights hold, trying to somehow free himself.

_**“Vow to me. I am thou, thou art I… ”** _

Ren couldn’t make out anything else except those words and the unbearable pain he was feeling. He was numb to the outside world.

_**“... Thou who art willing to perform all sacrilegious acts for thine own justice! Call upon my name, and release thy rage! Show the strength of thine will to ascertain all on thine own, Thou thine be chained, to hell itself!”** _

The pain continued to soar through his pain receptors. Ren could scarcely feel the knights around him let go of him and step back. And all of a sudden, the pain was gone. It was replaced with a heavy weight.

He didn’t know how or why, but Ren had an instinctual feeling to move his hands up to his face. He felt a piece of metal, or was it plastic? He felt its curves and the object felt as if it had always been a part of Ren. A part of him which he never noticed before.

He clasped the ends of it. And pulled, and pulled. His face burned and he once again felt pain like he did earlier. But unlike before, Ren didn’t squirm. He continued pulling, until, the entity finally left his face.

The blood that trailed down his face was soon replaced by a cool, blue ember. The flames enveloped his body. His eyes glowed an unnatural gold. He feel a new pressure surround his body, but he couldn’t recognize where the weight originated from.

He could feel a being right behind him, the being to which the voice from earlier belonged to. He instinctively recognized that the being had a name.

Ren hollered out through the room, “Ravage them! Arsene!”. He followed his words by extending his arms out towards his enemies. Ren felt a sensational glee like never before as the knights all scattered and flew towards the corners of the room. His eyes settled on Kamoshida’s crawling figure near the opening of the cell.

Ren wouldn’t let Kamoshida escape. He wouldn’t let this… _thing_ get away with all that he had put him through.

Ren was intercepted by a few guards who stood in front of their ruler.

**“Guards! Execute him!”** , Kamoshida commanded his men.

The guards masks flew off and a red and black liquid flooded out. The liquid began to gather together and new figures erupted from the remains. Flying pumpkins wearing witch hats and black robes.

Ren had seen enough crazy, supernatural beings today for none of this to bother him. He knew that he would have to fight these beings if he wanted to live. He should have felt scared or been clumsy but Arsene’s reassurances and commands gave him the confidence he needed to end these monsters.

Ren stabbed his knife through the pumpkins head and watched as the earlier liquid leaked out and dissolved on the floor.

Ren commanded Arsene’s chains to wrap around the fraudulent king, still cowering in the corner. Kamoshida’s figure slowly rose higher against the wall. Ren could now recognize a sneer forming on his face.

**“W-What are you?! Guards! Execute him!”** Kamoshida didn’t realize that there were no more knights occupying the prison. Ren, meanwhile, was delighted.

It was because of people like this that the world was a terrible place. It was because of bastards like this that innocents had to suffer.

_“Damn brat! I’ll sue!”_

Ren was no longer seeing Kamoshida when he looked at the robed figure. He was looking at the man who got him a criminal record. The man who forced him to Tokyo! The man who ruined his life!

Arsene’s chains tightened themselves around the man. He heard him scream and Ren’s grin just got bigger.

**“D-Do you realize who you’re dealing with? I AM KAMOSHIDA! I WON’T LOSE TO A BRAT LIKE YOU! THIS IS MY CASTLE! I RULE THIS PLACE!”**

Kamoshida slowly began dissolving like those knights from earlier. He was slowly shifting into a puddle of black liquid.

Ren reacted. He wouldn’t let this man transform and slip out of his grasps.

Another chain extended from Arsene’s arms, this was wasn’t aiming to wrap and subdue like the others though. This one was aimed to maim, to kill. Ren didn’t care about the consequences anymore. He was just angry. Angry at this man, Kamoshida! Angry at the man who falsely accused him of assault! Angry at Sakura, Kobayakawa, and Kawakami for rubbing in his face how much of a criminal he is! Angry at the world as a whole for dealing him a shitty hand!

Arsene’s chains met their mark. They pierced through Kamoshida chest and ripped through his heart. The transformation that Kamoshida was about to go through was abruptly halted. Instead, the black liquid began to leak out of his mouth and drip onto the concrete below them.

Ren’s smile slowly faded and changed into a look of shock and revulsion. He quickly retracted Arsene’s chains and allowed Kamoshida to fall back down. He saw Kamoshida look back up at him. He opened his mouth and more obsidian colored blood drizzled down his jaw.

The man fell onto his face and completely dissolved, black blood, clothes and all. He disappeared.

Ren’s face twisted in horror. What just happened? What did he do? Ren looked up at Arsene, finally, and the figure became to dissipate into blue flames and rushed towards his face. Ren felt comfortable as the flames surrounded his face, before settling there. His vision was slightly obscured from the sides, but he could still see fine. He hesitantly reached up and pulled off the mask and looked down on it.

It was sleek and smooth, completely clean from any dust, dirt, blood, and even fire. It was white with black spike-shaped designs surrounding the eyehole. He found himself enjoying the masks aesthetic, but was interrupted by hearing a voice in his head.

_**“If thou wish to call upon me once more, call upon my name, and release thy rage.”**_ Arsene’s voice faded away like the gentle ending to a bittersweet song.

Seeing his mask, he also quickly noticed the dark red gloves he now adorned, along with the rest of his black and grey outfit. He didn’t get long to observe himself though, before he lost his footing and fell on the floor.

The ground began shaking, and he could see the cemented stones of the castle slip out of their holds. The entire building was collapsing.

Ren’s survival instincts kicked in. Even though he had no idea what was happening, he knew that he had to leave. He stood back up, thrust the cell door open and just started running. His instincts guided him past all the barrels, bridges, falling stone, and the floor that was falling to God knows where. He spotted a drawbridge, along with a statue of the teacher he just… liquefied.

Before Ren was able to investigate though, he was interrupted out of his mindless haze.

“Hey! Frizzy Head! Over here!” He looked toward the direction of the childlike voice and found… a monster cat. “This palace is collapsing! Please, get me out of here! See those keys over there!” The cat pointed his… paw, towards a key that was dangling against the a hook on the wall.

Ren was obviously hesitant. For all he knew, this could just be one of the castle’s trap. A way to snare him and get him stuck here. The cat seemed to understand his behavior.

“I’m locked in here! I’m a prisoner too!” The cat definitely had a point, Ren could acknowledge. “Look! You want to lower the drawbridge, right?” The cat grabbed Ren’s fading attention once more. “Check his mouth. I think there is a lever there.” Ren scrambled his way towards the statue and indeed, found a switch. The drawbridge lowered at his command, and Ren once again began to follow his survival instincts and began running across.

“Hey! Wait!” Ren had forgotten the cat and stumbled against the shaking floor to stop his burst of momentum. “I helped you! Open this door for me!”

Ren wanted to go back for the cat. He really did. Ren knew that the cat couldn’t be his enemy. He knew that. The cat may have just saved his life. But Ren took a glance around him. The ‘palace’ as the cat called it, was collapsing. The cat was locked in the prison and couldn’t get out. Ren needed to save him.

But… some part of Ren, was still mistrustful of the cat. He was still worried. What if the cat ended up attacking and killing him, like those knights? What if he ran out of time and going back ended up with his dying in this castle.

This cat saved his life, but Ren also knew that this could easily turn into a choice of the cat versus him. He could save the cat, but possibly die in the process, or go by himself, and leave the cat… to die. His odds of survival were greater if he left by himself.

So many people had been selfish to Ren in his life so far. His parents abandoned him when he needed them most. They didn’t even listen to his side of the story before they shipped him away to live in a stranger’s cafe.

_“You’ve disgraced us son. We thought you were better than this.”_

The stranger who took him in, Sakura Sojiro, might have been a bit better than others. He gave him food, and even drove him to his school. But the man wouldn’t ever stop talking about how he’s a troublemaker or how he was a criminal. He housed him in an attic for God’s sake! But worst of all, he acknowledged Ren’s side of the story, something no one else had done so far, but instead of encouraging or even offering pity, he says he did the wrong thing, trying to be a good human being and helping someone!

_“That’s what you get for sticking your nose in a matter between two adults.”_

Kobayakawa and that other bitch, Kawakami. They were just as bad as Sakura, humiliating him and degrading him like he was just some object! If they both hated him this much, they why accept him into the school in the first place?

_“You will immediately be expelled if you cause any problems.”_

_“But really though, why me…? There should’ve been better candidates.”_

The courts barely even looked at his trial. It lasted for a full thirteen minutes, before the judge said, _“I charge the defendant as guilty.”_

He looked Ren in the eye and had no remorse. Ren believed wholeheartedly that he would be labelled innocent, and that he could go home. But he was lied to.

The bitch who decided to get him a criminal record. The woman he tried to save, sold him out. She didn’t care what it would do to Ren’s life, and just did what she could to help herself! She didn’t care that he risked his neck for her and instead, acted like a coward!

The bastard politician who started this whole thing. Who seemed to take a thrill in ruining people’s lives. Ren didn’t remember much about that night, the only thing he remembered were the man’s eyes. If he ever saw him again, he’d know. Ren would find some way to make the man’s life hell, even if it’s the last thing he did.

_“Incompetent fools like you just need to shut your mouths and follow where I steer this country!”_

And finally, the most recent person to make the list. Kamoshida. This asshole teacher who decided to lock him up in a magical prison cell and almost killed him.

_**“You trespassed onto my castle, then disrespected me. The penalty for that is death!”** _

Ren was pissed off at the world, pissed at everyone. Why did evil get to spread and breed while innocents suffered!

Ren knew that deep down, this cat was innocent. What he was doing to this cat, was the same thing that so many others did to him. Abandon him. Reject him. Betray him. But Ren was so angry that he just didn’t care.

Ren started sprinting away from the cells towards the staircase, not caring about the repercussions of his actions. He knew what he was doing. He was being a hypocrite. To better his own odds of survival, he would be selfish, like so many others had been to him.

He was going to let the cat die.

Ren looked back towards the prison cell one last time, and wished that he hadn’t. The cat, with his big, blue eyes, was crying. The fur surrounding his eyes looked damp and sticky. The cat’s expression showed a multitude of expressions. Fear, despair, hurt, disbelief, but the most prominent one, betrayal.

Ren turned back around, kept running, and never looked back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading. This took a while to get out but I got it done. This chapter mostly replayed cannon events which is why it might have felt like a lot of details was brushed over. Next chapter, things start changing a lot more.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for clicking. This is the first story I've written in a while and I'm glad you've decided to read it. Keep in mind that I don't have a set schedule and will just write as inspiration comes so expect sporadic updates. Also, I'm working on lots of other stories at the same time as this so... if you want... check them out :) (once I upload them)


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